CEiMB: Arugula and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Is everyone having a good 2010 so far? Still keeping up with your resolutions? As for me, my new year started off on the wrong foot because I was still sick (or maybe sick again?) and in bed by 9:30 on New Year’s Eve and at the urgent care clinic the next day. Considering I am up until midnight or later on a regular night, this was quite a disappointment for me. Luckily Ryan woke me up at midnight so I could still start the year off with a kiss :) Sweet, that one. I don’t want to jinx it, but I think I might *finally* be getting over the various infestations of illness I was fighting off.

I had originally planned on doing a couple posts detailing the various culinary resolutions/goals I have for the year, etc., but that hasn’t happened yet. Do you have any special foodie-related goals you are planning to meet this year? I’m sincerely interested because I’m trying to come up with a list of my own. One exciting thing I have coming up soon is a knife skills class that my mom registered me for as a Christmas gift. Of course I chop pretty regularly, but I would love to learn proper technique. Plus, once I take the class I can sign up to be an assistant for other classes which sounds pretty much awesome. I’m also trying to work on my photography skills. I got a new lens for my camera, and I’m still learning how to make it do what I want (hence the weird focusing issues on the picture above).

I noticed that many bloggers resolved to post more regularly which seems an admirable plan. I think it’s especially hard to stay on top of everything around the holidays, but maybe that’s just me. I’m sad to have missed so many awesome looking CEiMB recipes and plan to soon make most of the ones I didn’t get a chance to make with the group. But, I am happy to be participating again this week. Lucky me, my return happens to coincide with a pizza recipe that Maria at Half Meatball/Half Matzoh Ball Children chose. There are few foods in this world that I love more than pizza. You know when people ask things like, “If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, which would you choose?” Without hesitation, my answer is always pizza. Always. Yum.

I have never had arugula before; at least I don’t think I have. Maybe it’s come in a salad or something, but I’ve never knowingly eaten it so I had no idea what kind of flavor it would have. For some reason, it never occurred to me to worry about that though. What I was a little nervous about was the one crucial missing ingredient: sauce. I like tomato sauce quite a lot and worried what a pizza without sauce would be like, but I am always open to trying new variations on my standard pizza. Then there was the issue of goat cheese which I hate, so I substituted fresh mozzarella. I decided to add a little garlic and crushed red pepper flakes to the arugula and onion mixture. The recipe calls for four tortillas to make four pizzas, but my toppings had cooked down so much that there was only enough for 2 tortillas. At least that meant a higher cheese to tortilla ratio which couldn’t be a bad thing, right?

Verdict? Not a fan. Not a fan at all. Somehow the pizza was both bitter and too sweet. How is that possible? I’m not sure. The arugula, I’m guessing, is what caused the bitterness, and all that caramelized onion was overly sweet. You know what could have helped this pizza immensely? Acid. As in, tomatoes. I think some acid would definitely make a difference, and maybe the goat cheese works better than the mild mozzarella. Ryan and I decided to dip our wedges in tomato sauce which he said made it pretty good, but I thought it was just edible at that point.

While this one wasn’t a winner for me, I do have yummy wheat tortillas and fresh mozzarella leftover to experiment with so I’m a happy camper.

Put the oil and onions in a medium skillet and cook over very low heat, stirring occasionally, until onions are soft and caramelized, about 15 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium and add the arugula, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook until the arugula is wilted, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Place the tortillas on a baking sheet and top each with some of the arugula/onion mixture. Top with cheese, and bake for 10 minutes. Allow to cool for a few minutes and cut each pizza into 4 triangles.

First, I hope you are finally feeling better after such a long bout with illnesses. And I’m so sorry that you weren’t a fan of these tasty little pizzas. But like you said, now you can experiment with your left over ingredients!

I hope you get 100% better soon! I’m actually skipping this one because of the onions as the main ingredient. I think goat cheese would probably add the right tang but if you hate it then obviously that wouldn’t work ;)
I’m taking a 6 week break from CEiMB as I go through the remodel of my kitchen. I’ll live vicariously though you since your pictures always look mouthwatering.
BTW, that knife class sounds amazing!! I definitely want to take some cooking classes, read more “instructional” cook books and learn about photography (buying an SLR soon and will take some classes then). Happy New Year!

So glad to hear you are feeling better!! It’s never fun being sick!! I can’t believe you didn’t like this one! I LOVED it! But then again, I left off the arugula, so I’m sure mine tasted completely different!

I think arugula is like cilantro, either you have a palate for it or you don’t. Cilantro always tastes like soap to me so I never use it. Sometimes you have to follow your own drummer. Love the look of it, however, I could take that off your hands with no problem at all. The knife skills class sounds very wonderful, I would love to do that, so enjoy it for both of us, okay?

I hear you on starting the new year off on the wrong foot. Been down myself since NYE. I sincerely hope you are better now.

I didn’t think I would like this, but I did, don’t know why. I used mozzarella,s so it tasted a little different. But, you are right, this isn’t for everyone. But at least you tried it. Yours looks perfect.

Why didn’t I think of mozzarella? I have no idea what goat cheese is like and the local stores do not carry it so I skipped the recipe. With mozzarella, I would have gladly made it. Sigh. Your looks good.

Thanks for cooking with me!
Although many of us LOVED this recipe, I can see how calling it pizza isn’t the best idea.
It’s really a whole other food.
Hope you’re feeling better!
I hope to take better photos this year…..I’m trying!